Any of my fellow HTT owners use a pop up gizmo to keep their tent ends warm in the winter? Somebody from the JOF recommended them to me awhile back (sorry I don't remember who) and I was just curious if they work as advertised. I found out how much heat loss actually occurs from both ends of the HTT in the sub-freezing temperatures!! Happy Camping.

They work great! I had them for my pop-up. In addition to the Gizmos you can make panels from Reflectix to go in your screen areas of your bunk ends. This will make a significant difference in keeping warm in winter and cooler in the summer as well. When they are not in use they store easily under the mattresses. Reflectix is a silver foil covered bubble wrap that can be found at Home Depot or Lowe's.

__________________Chuck - Sparta, TN
2012 Jay Flight 22FB, 2 x Honda EU2000i
2013 GMC Yukon XL Denali AWDEDUCATION is what you get when you read the fine print.....
EXPERIENCE is what you get when you don't.

Pm1stnau, I have not used them yet. I thought about making my own sometime. We have been out a number of times when the temperatures are down in the low 20’s. I get the outside edge, and I find it cool. I met up with a member of our forum on our last campout, he used a heavy duty solar blanket and spring clamped them to the tent. He stated they work as good as the Gizmos.

Here are the things I have done to make it more tolerable. 1st I placed a fleece blanket between the mattress and my bottom sheet, that made a huge improvement. 2nd for the last few campouts we purchased electric mattress pads (2.5 amps each) for the HTT. They have been great, and I was never cold. In addition, to eliminate condensation we have cracked the bathroom vent about ˝ - 1”. We also open one of the bunk end side windows (each bunk), we have the zippers join at the upper corner (high point) and keep them unzipped about 2-3”. Since then we have had absolutely zero condensation.

Thanks, Jagiven, for your advice. Since this was our first ever "winter" camp, we tried electric blankets. They worked absolutely fantastic! In order of layers, it went mattress, fitted sheet, ordinary blanket, electric blanket, then comforter. We slept between the ordinary blanket and the electric blanket, and for as cold as the tent ends got, we were warm as can be and comfortable. Of course the furnace was set to about 74 degrees, and a portable electric ceramic heater was running, too. We did have the bathroom vent opened to prevent condensation. I was told by someone, somewhere, never to use electric blankets AND electric mattress pads; either one or the other. Electric blankets were less expensive than mattress pads, and me being a cheapskate.... I am very interested in hearing about your homemade solar blankets and how they work. Like I said, we were very comfortable for all 4 days, and since I now know how much fun winter camping is, I am now trying to figure out how to use less propane and pack fewer blankets. For the record, in 4 days of camping in temperatures that never got past the upper 20's, we used 25 pounds of propane, which included the furnace running non-stop and plenty of cooking, washing dishes, etc. I was surprised to see the propane last as long as it did. Bonus!! Happy Camping!!

pm1stnau, I have not made the solar blankets yet, that might just be project for next summer. I have always understood as you do not want electric blankets as the wires tend to short out.

As to reduce the amount of propane, try using two electric heaters. Your 30 amp power feed will not be able to support both of them running simultaneously. What I do is run a heavy duty extension cord from the CG electric post into the HTT through the underside of the slide out. In your case, I would slip it in thought your front bunk end at the hinge.

My 1500W electric heater requires 12.5 amps and each electric mattress pads consume 2.5 amps each. Not sure how much electric the blankets use, but it is an easy calculation if you still have the box or use a “Kill-A-Watt” meter. When I use two electric heaters I utilize the extension cord, for one of them.

Popup Gizmos made a huge difference camping in our popup the last two summers. We just recently traded for our Jayco Hybrid and plan to use the same ones on it next summer as well. Whether you buy them or make them they are well worth the money or the effort...

I am using the bunk end liners in our 19H. Only camped two nights in it but we were down in the high 30s both nights and they definitely helped. I have the super high wind covers as well but did not use them on this trip.